Childish Gambino Releases New Music During Saturday Night Live Debut

Donald Glover’s musical alter-ego dropped two new songs, “Saturday” and “This Is America, both of which he performed during his double-bill debut on Saturday Night Live last night. He also released an artistic video for “This Is America” in the middle of the SNL broadcast.

The surreal music video shows a shirtless Childish Gambino dancing and walking his way through a warehouse. At different points in the video, he pulls out an assault rifle and shoots both a hooded man in a chair and a gospel choir). There is even a SZA sighting towards the end of the video.

Summed up: The American fabric is selling distractions and superficial livelihoods, while in reality avoiding gross systematic issues that we ignore because it’s easier to live a lie than to confront the truth. #ThisIsAmerica Childish Gambino Donald Glover #PoliticsNationpic.twitter.com/rPuu5Ycsc4

In reference to the Childish Gambino video, yes I understood it; however, I found it sensationalistic. It is has become extremely normalized to depict Black trauma or death. In an effort, to turn some heads and be controversial, the video wasn’t controversial at all.

The new music is the first that Childish Gambino has dropped since the release of his Grammy-nominated album “Awaken, My Love!” late in 2016. He has said that the next Childish Gambino album he releases will be his last.

He is set to go on tour later this fall with Rae Sremmurd and Vince Staples.